Cherry Hill Sun

Author: atwiford

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  • Township hosts ice cream social for seniors

    Photos by Abigail Twiford/The Sun
    The social was held on July 14 at the Carmen Tilelli Community Center, where some attendees played a game of Bingo.

    An ice cream social that is one of a number of events the township sponsors for seniors took place on July 14 at the Carmen Tilelli Community Center. 

    The township wanted to create an event that was different and uplifting for seniors in the dog days of summer. It and other events are also part of Mayor Dave Fleisher’s initiative to connect with the senior community in Cherry Hill. 

    “We are doubling down on our support and resources for our seniors,” he said, “and the feedback really has been positive.”

    Mayoral staffers were given a directive to create more events for township seniors that also offer information, resources and services from which they can benefit.

    The ice cream social was compliments of a Mister Softee Truck on the front lawn of the Tilelli center, next to a township tent set up to welcome guests. Inside were tables and chairs set up to accommodate the seniors and enable them to socialize. One back table was set up for games of Bingo, complete with a number caller.

    The Libby Spencer Tap Dancers entertained the seniors. They are Barbara Clayton (left to right), Mary Poteat, Clara Watkins and Pearl Jackson.

    The day’s muggy heat prevented some games from being outside, but inside, the seniors were entertained by the Libby Spencer Tap Dancers, four women who demonstrated versions of the time step, including the single, double and triple time steps. They also offered a short jump rope, time step routine, dressed in sparkling silver and white tops, white pants and bedazzled tap shoes. 

    Nancy Falk was one of the seniors at the social. 

    “I was happy that it was Mister Softee,” she said, “and the tap dancers were great.”

    More than 200 people attended the social over its two hours.

    Sylvia Bravo and Josephine Messina were there mostly for Bingo, but also took advantage of the ice cream and tap show.

    “I think it was a very nice dance show,” Messina said. “It was really nice. It was really great.”

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  • Two, three, four: Social dancing at the library

    Abigail Twiford/ The Sun
    Nina Rubinstein and Tony Castro demonstrate the proper posture for the rumba at a library social dance session on July 15.

    The beats heard on July 15 at the township library came from the first of three planned summer social dance nights there.

    Participants were encouraged to come out whether or not they had a dance partner; they would be matched with other solo attendees for social dancing with groups or partners in an informal setting. Instructors Tony Castro and Nina Rubinstein taught the night’s dance: the rumba.

    Jasmine Riel is the teen librarian, but she organized the adult dancing and asked Castro, her uncle, to teach the session with Rubinstein.

    “They social dance all the time …” Riel said of the duo. “What’s great about having it here is that it is free for everybody to attend, whereas in a lot of other places, it might cost money and it’s a commitment … Here, what’s kind of great about a lot of the instructional programs, whether it’s a dancing program or crafting program, is that it’s a much more informal learning setting.

    “You can get your feet wet, you can try something new.”

    Participants split themselves into two groups of leaders and followers; two partners can’t do both. Before practicing the rumba, Castro and Rubinstein encouraged the dancers to listen to the music before moving. They then partnered up with the person across from them to begin practice. 

    Besides teaching the dance moves themselves, Castro and Rubinstein offered tips on what would make partner dancing easier, such as finding a connection between two people and keeping a relaxed frame to feel the movement of the lead dancer. 

    “Don’t worry too much about the steps, because the steps follow,” Castro explained. “If your posture and your mechanics are not right, then the steps are going to be either difficult or it’s not going to be correct. And once it’s not correct, your partner will sense that, and both of you will be lost.”

    He and Rubinstein demonstrated how leaders should turn their partners for part of the rumba where two people no longer hold each other by both arms, but one. They emphasized the importance of communication and trust between partners, even asking the followers to practice closing their eyes so they could be led by their partners.

    “Based on the conversation I had with most of the attendees,” Castro reported, “everybody was happy. And a couple of ladies said, ‘This is the first time I danced with my husband, and we didn’t argue about it.’”

    What Castro and Rubinstein emphasized most about social dancing was that it is supposed to be fun. They told students no to worry too much about making the wrong moves, but to focus on enjoying the dance itself.

    “I was really excited,” Rubinstein said, “because everyone was excited, and everyone came here just to have fun.”